


Waiting

by Emono



Category: Band of Brothers, The Pacific (TV)
Genre: A bit of stress relief from my job and you're in for a good laugh, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dirty Talk, Drama & Romance, M/M, Webgott focused with background couples
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-24 19:12:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emono/pseuds/Emono
Summary: Just a run-of-the-mill steakhouse staffed by a bunch of lunatics who decided to trade their sanity to pay the bills. Get an insiders look of the restaurant bizz with a beehive of activity and an assortment of couples fueled by real life stories and encounters. Just a bunch of gays packed into a building together trying to get by in life and make some money doing it. Angst, unrequited love, lust, steak, and above all: Drama.





	1. Lunch Shift

**Author's Note:**

> No lies, everything that happens in this story has happened to either me or one of my coworkers. I've seen most of it first hand. Enjoy the madness! (Webgott-focused but with an allstar cast.)

_‘I don't fuck with you  
_ _You little stupid ass bitch, I ain't fuckin' with you  
_ _You little, you little dumb ass bitch, I ain't fuckin' with you  
_ _I got a million trillion things I'd rather fuckin' do  
_ _Than to be fuckin' with you’_

 

 

“Christ, turn it off.”

 

“Violent, stupid bullshit.”

 

“You have shitty taste in radio stations.”

 

“You just have shitty taste.”

 

“Ooo, _burn_.”

 

“Shut up, bitch, I haven’t had enough coffee for this.”

 

There was a long pause in the car. The radio murmured but had been subdued for the moment.

 

Blue eyes cut to the passenger. “Do you work a double?”  
  
  
  
“Of fucking course I work a double.”

 

“Mouthy shit.”

 

“Cocksucker.”

 

“You’d know.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Joe braced his boot on the thick cardboard box their sauce bags came in. He was supposed to be unloading the supply truck with the rest of the guys but the back door was closed and he needed a smoke. It was too damn early in the morning. Eight AM was for the birds.

 

“Hey, if it ain’t Joe Toye!”

 

Joe rolled his eyes. Eight AM was for the birds and the ever obnoxious George Luz.

 

Luz was bundled up against the morning chill while Joe had sweat cooling on the back of his neck from lugging stock for the past hour. He was adorable with his scarf curled up under his chin just below his winning smile.

 

“Look what I got,” Luz sing-songed, shaking the bag. “Breakfast burritos for you and the boys. Do you love me or what?”

 

“Come here and I’ll show you how much.”

 

The wall scraped against Luz’s coat but he didn’t feel it with Joe’s plush mouth slanted across his own. The rough man stole his breath and though the kiss was firm there was a etenderness in the way he cupped his hip, in the way he curled over him almost protectively against the wind and the view from the parking lot. They weren’t exactly closeted, everyone in the entire restaurant was open minded and accepting when it came to shit like this, but still they were careful outside like this. Joe had always protected him and had the scars to prove him from one too many brawls with bigoted assholes.

 

But these kisses were sugar sweet and all for him.

 

“What do I owe you?” Joe husked against his mouth.

 

Luz hummed and pretended to think before he snatched the cigarette right out of the hand above his head. “This’ll do.”

 

Joe watched with a stirring, primal hunger as Luz’s perfect mouth curled around the smoke and drew in. His cheeks hollowed out and Joe moaned under his breath. “ _Christ_.”

 

“You remembering something fun?” Luz teased mercilessly, smoke pouring out of his mouth. “Maybe like last weekend?”

 

Joe wanted to make some filthy comment about how that smart mouth begged to be fucked, that there was nothing that got him harder than the wet glide of sliding across Luz’s clever tongue and feeling the rough, little choke around his dick when he bottomed out. But that all went out the window when Luz hot boxed the smoke and tossed it away. Joe grabbed the man by the collar of his coat and dragged him into another kiss. He could taste the cloyingly sweet caramel frappe Luz had probably polished off on the drive there. He bit and licked, dragging his teeth over the host’s lip until he could feel how hot and swollen it was beneath his own.

 

Joe pulled back with a grin and they were both panting lightly, dark eyed and handsy. Luz’s lip was cherry red and ripe. He thumbed at it and realized he would probably get conned into promising anything for a chance at getting between those lips later that night. But that was the risk of warming Luz’s bed - anything could happen. “Already in the coffee, huh?”

 

“Can’t function without it,” Luz chuckled breathlessly, tilting his head back when the man’s mouth sought a spot beneath his jaw. The scarf was nosed out of the way. He hummed and curled his fingers in Joe’s shirt when teeth grazed over his pulse. “Don’t leave a mark, dickhead.”

 

Joe hummed against the damp skin. “You coming over tonight?”

 

“You gonna’ make it worth my time?”

 

“You know I’ll take care of you,” Joe promised darkly, thumb slipping under the man’s coat and between the layers to touch bare skin. He was so invitingly warm. “Always do, don’t I?”

 

The alarm for the door went off right before it swung open. Buck leaned out and rolled his eyes at the sight of the two of them, snorting. “So you two want to fuck or can we get this food inside sometime today?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, old man,” Joe griped as he pushed off the wall and easily lugged the sauce box off the ground up onto his shoulder. “Hold the door open, will ‘ya? Some of us are trying to work here.”

 

Buck’s eyes zeroed in on the bag in Luz’s hand. “Is that what I think it is? Malark!” He turned and barked the name inside. “Food’s here!”

 

There was a clang before a string of happy curses. “Ah shit, fucking hell yes.”

 

o0o

 

The morning started out loud and they all knew they were in for it.

 

Babe kicked in the swinging door and burst into the front drink station with an angry flush staining his cheeks. “This is the worst day of my _life_!”

 

Skinny and Shifty shared a laugh as they got the drink for their tables. They loved Babe to death but he was pretty over dramatic. “What happened, Babe?”

  
“I got pulled over this morning for some bullshit and the asshole gave me a ticket,” Babe snapped, punching his number into the computer. His rant about police abusing their power and ticket quotas fizzled out when he got hit with the security override screen. He outright growled and slammed his palms on the screen. The computer creaked under the blow. Jackson, who had been passing by with a full salad on his tray, jolted and the bowl wobbled dangerously.

 

“This is such bullshit!” Babe barked. He tossed his order book on the floor and cursed again before smacking his fist off the metal of the bar window.

 

“Hey! Hey, hey…” Eugene rounded the corner from the host stand and hurried towards the man. He laid a hand on his waist and cheek, urging him in for a soft kiss. “Good morning, _bébé_.”

 

Babe’s eyes grew soft at the sight of his boyfriend and his whole demeanor changed beneath those capable hands. “Hey Gene.”

 

“Let me get a manager, huh?” Eugene crooned.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Eugene gave him one last peck before he clicked on the mic clipped to his shirt. “I need a manager swipe up at the front drink station when you get a chance? Heffron needs clocked in.”

 

Martin’s scoff was clear through the faint static in his ear. “Then he shoulda’ been here on time. He can come on with the noon servers.”

 

“Come on, Johnny,” Eugene pleaded sweetly. “For me? _Pour moi_? I need him on the floor.”

 

The floor manager sighed over the radio. “Fine. Give me a minute.”

 

“Thank you.” He clicked off the mic and kissed Babe’s cheek, humming happily when his boyfriend finally smiled. “Give him just a sec’.”

 

“You’re the best.”

 

“I know.”

 

o0o

 

A normal Thursday at a steakhouse in the middle of January was usually mild. But the snow had melted and people came out of the damn woodwork for endless wheat bread and lunch specials. Burgers, steak, rubbery chicken fillets - they all went out by the pile along with heaping bowls of salad. They had cut the floor a little too soon and it had left them scrambling through lunch.

 

“Christ on a fucking _stick_ !” Web barked as he slammed the plate down on the counter so hard the bottom chipped. “How hard is it to cook a steak medium-rare? This is the _third_ time. Are you guys too busy pulling your dicks to watch the temperatures or _what_?!”

 

“Hey!” Liebgott shot back, pointing at him with the tongs he’d been using to flip over the steaks sizzling away on the grill. “Chill the fuck down up there, princess!”

 

“That’s what you need to do to the damn pans because this shit is over well-done as fuck.” He picked up the plate and shoved it roughly back through the hot holding shelf. “Refire on medium rare, you fuck.”

 

“Ack!” Liebgott spat, flicking the spatula impatiently. “Get back here and do it yourself.”

 

“Maybe I should, since you’re so fucking incompetent,” Web snapped back. “ _Refire_.”

 

o0o

 

Snafu slammed his tray down on the dishtank with a growl. “I’m going to do it, Perco. I’m gonna’ fuckin’ do it.”

 

The other man’s head ducked down under the glass racks, dark eyes blinking dully at him. “Do what?”

 

“I’m gonna’ lock the doors from the outside and and burn this place to the ground with everyone inside!” Snafu spat out in a quick flurry, tossing cups and plates off his tray with a bit too much force.

 

“What crawled up your ass?” Perconte demanded, nose crinkling as he heard one of the plates crack.

 

“This _bitch_ came right up to me while I was carrying my tray and dumped her Goddamn trash right beside my head!” Snafu was careful not to toss the silverware in the vat of cleaning solution but he banged his tray hard against the trashcan to dump the rest of it. “What the fuck am I? A trash can? These white fuckin’ privleged ass, motherfuckin’ bread shoveling, fake tittied-”

 

Snafu cut himself off when Sledge slid up beside him with his own tray. The man was usually a floor manager but he picked up serving shifts whenever he could to keep himself in perspective and his skills sharp. Snafu’s jaw snapped shut as the redhead shot him a smile and a sigh.

 

“Busy lunch, huh?” Sledge chuckled. “I feel like I’m already beat and we just started.”

 

“Y-Yeah,” Snafu replied meekly.

 

“Do you work a double today?”

  
  
It was hard to meet those intense, bright eyes and he stared down at his dirty apron. “Uh-huh. Line.”

 

He glanced up in time to see Sledge’s smile and it made his cheeks burn. “I’m on the floor tonight but I’ll probably end up back there with you guys.”

 

“Yeah, that’ll be...yeah.” He thumbed behind him. “Gotta’, you know...floor.”

 

Snafu kicked himself for being so stupid and hurried onto the floor to try to work off the embarrassed energy tingling through his skin.

 

o0o

 

“If this bitch shakes her glass at me one more time, I’m going to shove it up her ass,” Web growled over the salad station as he threw together a huge bowl for the obnoxious party he had. “It’s been forty five minutes and all they can decide on is that they’re thirsty fucks and they want two salads to split. Oh yeah, and something for their bread so they can dip it and shove it down their fat fucking mouths faster.” He took a deep breath before bellowing out “ _artichoke dip on the fly!_ ” as he drizzled the salad with balsamic.

 

“Yeah, get in line, princess!”

 

Web dropped the salad on his tray before casting a glare over the holding shelf and into the kitchen at the back of the head that the smart remark had come from. “Hey fuckface, it’s for the guests.”

 

Liebgott scowled at him before returning the grill. “I don’t give a shit if it’s for the Pope, we’re waiting on Prep to get their shit together on like six things right now.”

 

“Hey!” Alley squawked from the very back of the kitchen where the Prep line lived. “We’re busting our asses back here.”

 

“Yeah and I’m up here with a Corona and gettin’ my dick sucked,” Liebgott yapped back. “Web needs artichoke.”

 

“Twenty on artichoke dip.”

 

“ _Twenty_?” Web gaped before slamming his hand on the shelf, the plates littering it giving a little tremble. “Twenty fucking minutes on dip? Are you kidding me? These assholes are going to start eating me alive.”

 

“I thought you were into eating assholes?” Buck asked innocently, turning and sharing a sly grin with Malarkey over the fires of saute pans.

 

“Hey!” Martin growled, sliding up next to Web and pulling on a set of hot gloves to start pulling in the steaming dishes. “No one’s getting their assholes eaten until this food gets out. I need _runners_!”

 

o0o

 

Joe volunteered to do a trash run with Chuck in a heartbeat. He managed to snag Hoosier when the managers weren’t looking and they quickly got all the bags outside before shutting the back door. The garbage area was enclosed with high walls so they weren’t visible from the parking lot and once they went behind the shed they were invisible to the door as well.

 

That meant a nice smoke break on the clock.

 

“What am I gonna’ get him? _Fuck_ ,” Joe puffed, face scrunching up as he struggled to come up with something. “What do you get a guy after two years?”

 

“Fuck if I know,” Chuck snorted. “The big day is coming up fast, huh?”

 

“Next month,” Joe hummed idly. “He wants everything but he don’t _need_ nothin’. I dunno’. He’s such a piece of shit.”

 

“You both are,” Hoosier snickered.

 

“You’re worse than both of them combined,” Chuck shot back, kicking a box at the blonde.

 

“Just do what you know you both want,” Hoosier snarked, knocking the box away. “Suck his dick, fuck his tight little ass, and when you’re done eat him out until he can’t remember his own name. Bing, bam, happy anniversary.”

 

Chuck sputtered but Joe’s glare was sharp.

 

“First of all, don’t even _think_ about my boyfriend’s ass,” Joe spat.

 

“Oh I think about it. It’s not tight like yours though,” Hoosier drawled, hands squeezing in a cupping motion. “His looks real soft and squishy, like you can smack it and it’ll jiggle. Tell me it jiggles?”

 

“You’re begging to get punched right in the fucking mouth.”

  
“I’d like it,” Hoosier countered, eyes lighting up. “Ah man, get your pretty boy to punch me. I’d jizz in like twenty seconds if he got all hot and bothered and fucked me up.”

  
Joe couldn’t tell if his friend was teasing or not anymore and it made him grit his teeth. “ _I’m_ gonna fuck you up!”

 

“You could be there!” Hoosier insisted. “Bro, I’ve been talking about a threesome since you first fucked him!”

 

“I swear to Christ, Hoose, I’m gonna-”

 

The door swung open and Lipton’s broad form took up the doorway. “Boys!”

 

Hoosier quickly flicked his cigarette into the cardboard-only dumpster and stood in a salute. “Sir!”

 

Lipton crossed his arms and made The Face and they knew they were in trouble. “That’s enough. The kitchen is getting slammed.”

 

Joe gave a cheeky grin. “Aren’t you the front of house manager?”

 

“I’m the Everywhere Manager,” Lipton deadpanned. “Hurry up out here. I want you back in less than five minutes.”

 

The door slammed shut and they all groaned.

 

“Let’s go,” Lieb scoffed. “Fuckin’ assholes.”

 

Grant did a double take at the dumpster. “Uh, Hoose? Lieb?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Hoosier yelped when he saw the first of the flames flicking inside the dumpster window. It hadn’t rained in days and everything inside was bone dry under the hot sun.

 

Joe absolutely lost it. Laughter bubbled up into his throat and didn’t stop. He cackled and clutched at his sides when they started to sting. His knees gave out but he couldn’t _stop_. He ended up laying on the dirty cement with tears in his eyes as he basked in the absurdity of the sight before him. His howling nearly covered up Chuck and Hoosier’s panicked noises as they danced around the dumpster trying to figure out the best way to put it out.

 

“Joe! Help me!”

 

“I-I can’t _breathe_! Holy shit, you fucking idiot!”

  
o0o

 

Web was pulling bread when he heard Hoobler loudly telling the store as he plated his heavy tray. He groaned and got a glimpse of Joe’s pinched face through the many metal shelves between them.

 

“This asshole grabbed Web’s ass right there!” Hoobler howled, clearly amused as he made the crowd around him laugh. Web bristled and ducked his head to hide the humiliated burn across his cheeks. “He yanked him by the belt and then shoved a fifty into his back pocket. What the fuck, right?”

 

Said bill burned a hole in Web’s pocket and he didn’t dare look again to see Joe’s face.

 

“Shut the fuck up already!” Hoosier barked, uncharacteristically defensive of his friend. The crowd of servers blinked in astonishment and they quickly realized the whole line was prickling up. Malark, Skip, Penk, Toye, Hoosier, even Buck. Hoobler’s mouth snapped closed and he quickly picked up his tray.

 

And it wasn’t talked about again.

 

o0o

 

Lipton sat at the bar top while Ron quietly rinsed the wine glasses. He scrubbed his hands over his face and tried not to moan in dismay. The dinner rush was about to hit and they were horribly unprepared. They were out of everything and having, what felt like a thousand, call-offs was screwing up the schedule.

 

When Lipton dropped his hands there was a shot of whiskey in front of him. “Ron.”

 

Ron said nothing as he ran a polishing rag over one of the glasses. His stare was unwavering but Lipton had never backed down from it before and he wasn’t going to start now. Ron would’ve made a great manager if given a chance but he was relatively new to this particular restaurant. Dick was giving the man a chance by letting him have command of the bar and all that entailed including ordering stock and managing the other bartenders. Ron could fake it well in front of guests but with over employees he was rather stoney faced and solemn. He wasn’t one to give away anything.

 

“Ron, I can’t.”

 

Ron shrugged a shoulder but there was an insistence in his eyes.

 

Luz popped up beside Lipton and took the shot down with one gulp. He grinned big and bright at the manager. “Let’s get this night started, fellas.”

 

o0o

 

Eugene didn’t smoke unless he was taking hits off his friends’ cigarettes. He certainly didn’t do it at work. He was a host, after all. He was right up front and he couldn’t reek like stale smoke and burnt nicotine the whole time. It was bad for business. It was something he could get written up for if it happened enough. But it was a rule he broke when it came to his closest friends and their moods.

 

Usually that was Snafu.

 

Merriell - _Snafu_ \- was a complex man. He was made of deep waters disguised as mossy shallows. Most people glazed over him and his thick drawl but not Eugene. Though people joked they were cousins, that they were childhood friends; in reality, they’d only known each other two short years. They didn’t come from the same area, their families didn’t know each other. Their friendship had been by happenstance, started by a common accent and cemented by a shared nature. They were both ice cold with hot tempers hidden under layers.

 

“I don’t know what to do,” Snafu admitted lowly, smoke spilling over his lower lip. “Nothing’s working on him. He’s an ice man.”

  
“Have you tried actually telling him you want to date?” Eugene offered. “Instead of, I don’t know, crude innuendos and creepy staring?”  
  
  
  
“I don’t stare,” Snafu lied.

 

“You stare,” Eugene insisted. “You make those damn big eyes at him and it freaks him out, Mer. He don’t know what to do with you when you take him in. You look like a man possessed.”

 

“He’s the sun,” Snafu sighed, his head knocking lightly off the wall. “I am mesmerized. I am _blinded_ , Gene. He is the sun and the stars and the fuckin’ _moon_.”

 

“Sounds burdensome,” Eugene deadpanned.

 

“My whole galaxy in one tiny little man,” Snafu puffed. “How sad and small my world had become when it all rests in two amber eyes.”

 

Eugene scrubbed a hand over his face. “You get poetic when you’re heartsick.”

 

The man’s lips lingered on the butt for a few long moments and smoke curled in heavy wave over his mouth. “I’m thinkin’ about going back to school.”

 

“You hate school, Mer. You told me you were never any good at it anyhow.”

  
“I do, I’m not, I wasn’t,” Snafu dismissed impatiently. “I’m shit at it. But Sledge is all educated. He’s gettin’ himself one fancy ass degree. Thought maybe if I had something under my belt, maybe-”

 

“Maybe what?” Eugene tisked. “He’d fall in love with you? That’s not how it works. Gene doesn’t care about your education, Mer. He cares about what you are, _who_ you are. You just have to show him how you feel. Show him that he’s your sun.”

 

Snafu scraped his smoke across the cement with a frown. “Aye. Guess so. Don’t know how, though.”

 

“You’re smart, Mer. You’ll figure it out.”

 

o0o

 

Martin was up front shouting for runners. They could hear him from the back drink station. It was edging toward the close of lunch and Web stood with Babe and Christenson hunched over his phone. They all were. Checking emails, replying to texts, doing anything but working.

 

“I’ve been running food all day,” Babe griped. “Fuck those assholes.”

 

“Heard,” Web grunted.

 

o0o

 

“Okay, guys and dolls,” Sledge called as he stepped into the front drink station with his clipboard. The night servers and those who had come back for their doubles gathered around and quieted. “I’m on the floor tonight and I have my swipe card so I’ll try be available. We’ve got Ack or Eddie coming in to help close tonight and I have two reminders. One, if you need to have someone talk to a table about a problem come to _me_. Two, please do _not_ call Eddie ‘Hillbilly’ to his face, okay? It hurts his feelings.”

 

“I think his accent’s cute,” Renee chirped.

 

“We all do,” Sledge chuckled, tapping his pen on the clipboard. “Sink’s coming on Monday so get ready for that.”

 

“Is Welshy tonight?” Chuckle asked, gum popping loudly.

 

“It’s me and a floater on the floor, Speirs in the bar, Lipton’s closing.” Sledge’s eyes dropped to the bottom of the sheet and he hissed. “Fuck.” He quickly covered his mouth with a blush but all the servers were grinning. He rolled his eyes and dropped his hand. “Nixon’s dropping in tonight.”

 

Web’s brow furrowed up. “So Dick will be in too?”

 

“Of course he will,” Cobb snorted. “He doesn’t miss a drop in.”

 

Luz elbowed him in the side to shut him up. Dick was their general manager and this was one of his rare days off. In truth he never missed one of their district manager’s drop-ins but the gossip was that they were hooking up on the side. Knowing Dick, it was probably much more romantic and involved than fuck buddies so no one said anything for fear of getting him in actual trouble. They loved Dick, they’d do anything for him, and the last thing they wanted was to lose him to some other douchebag slave driver.

 

“So I want your best behavior,” Sledge finished, eyeing the clock on the nearest monitor. “Sell five apps, five desserts, try to push the dying wines, remember the new cocktails. Big smiles, like you mean it! Here we go.”

 

“Carpe deez’ nuts!” Smokey declared. “Good luck everyone.”  


  
Eugene hip-checked Cobb on his way to the floor, throwing a wink over his shoulder. “Love your hair, hope you win.”


	2. Dinner Rush and Thereafter

As lunch rolled into dinner, tensions grew thick in the kitchen. Servers were practically kicking in the swinging doors and snarling insults but once they walked back out to the floor their sunny smiles were back in place. From an outsider's perspective it would’ve appeared almost grotesque. Sugar sweet smiles and cheery giggles one moment, the next their faces melted into sneers of pure rage and the most violent, obscene phrases about strangers hurled out of their mouths.

 

“I’m going to skin this guy alive and make him into shoes,” Janovec growled, throwing his tray down onto the dishtank. “Then I’m going to wear those shoes when I stomp his family to _death_!”

 

Chuck leaned down below the glass rack of the dishtank with a frown. “Goddamn, Public School, calm down.”

 

“Eight bowls of soup, Chuck! _Eight_!”

 

“I’ve got some drain cleaner back here?”

 

“Put it in loaded potato soup so this fucker can choke!”

 

o0o

 

“Yeah, I close tonight,” Eddie said over the phone, leaning up against his car and finishing up his cigarette. There was a low, warm chuckle over the line that made his stomach tingle. “Don’t laugh. These kids are rough on me.”

 

He listened as Andy’s smooth voice reassure him and he felt his belly full of butterflies come to rest. His boyfriend had that effect on him.

 

“I gotta’ go, I’m already a bit late,” Eddie admitted. “You gonna’ have dinner waiting for me when I get home?” He grinned at the snort that came across the line. “Nah, I thought not. Pizza? Ah yeah, that’s more your speed anyway. I’ll try not to wake you if I’m late, old man. Love ‘ya.”

 

o0o

 

Hall, one of the new servers, blanched and backed up into Tipper as he tried to stay out of the line of fire. Web and Joe were screaming at each other across the hot shelf over steak temperature. They were both red in the face and looked ready to fistfight.

 

Hoobler patted Hall’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, peanut. They’re like this all the time.”

 

“Do they hate each other that much?”

 

“ _Hate_ each other?” Tipper snorted. “Sure, kid, yeah.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

The restaurant was at a standstill. Every table was full and they could only seat as fast as people got up. Unfortunately for the growing crowd in the lobby, people seemed content to linger long after their meals were done and they were on an hour wait for walk-ins.

 

Lipton was glad for the way the schedule was stacked because he didn’t need to do much micromanaging. Sledge was sharp and smart, he could trust him to do his job and do it well. He knew the man would stay on the floor and put out fires where he could but wouldn’t be afraid to come to him if something big happened. Eddie was best in the kitchen keeping the rowdiness contained and funneling all their wild energy into results.

 

With bussers circling and servers moving meals along as politely as they could, the host stand was doing a lot of ‘hurry up and wait’.

 

Lipton went up to the host stand and checked the screen to see where they were. He idly thumbed the microphone clipped to his lapel as his eyes jumped from one icon to another, checking the times and splitting the screen to compare them to the wait list they had. There was nothing he could do so he kept on a polite smile to try and convey that everything was alright.

  
Luz scooted up next to him and bumped their shoulders with a little grin. “Hey, Lip?”   


  
“Yeah, boy?”

 

“How are things with the missus?” Luz inquired, eyes darting pointedly to where Ron was glaring at the blenders he had spinning to fulfill the line of tickets he had on his plate. He watched Lipton shrug and it made him frown. “Trouble in paradise?”

 

“No,” Lipton replied simply.

 

“Okay,” Luz drew out, eyeing him critically. “Are you not happy?”

 

“I’m happy.” He sounded honest but not earnest.

 

“So?” Luz needled, digging his elbow into the man’s side. “You can trust me, Lip. It’s not gonna’ go further than me. What’s up? You guys having a fight or something?” He lowered his voice and waggled his eyebrows to try and lighten the heavy mood lingering on his boss. “Don’t tell me the bed’s gotten cold already?”

 

Lipton chuckled quietly and tapped through the screen, glancing up at the crowd. “No, George, nothing like that.”

 

Luz puffed and the curl of his bangs flicked. “Dead romance?”

 

“Dead would imply it was ever alive,” Lipton murmured.

 

Luz picked up on the bitterness even with the noisy buzz of the waiting crowd and the idle chatter of his coworkers. “It’s only been a few months. Don’t tell me the shine has worn off already?”

 

Lipton turned his back on the crowd and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on the counter and lowering his voice. Luz took off his earpiece and leaned in to hear. “When we first got together, he tried. God help him, he did. He’s just not a romantic person. That kind of stuff doesn’t occur to him.” He wet his lips and dropped his eyes to his shoes. “He loves me, I know he does. He _knows_ I know. When he thinks nothing’s wrong he doesn’t…he isn’t…”

 

Luz let him work the thought out by himself.

 

“Romantic gestures don’t occur to him unless he thinks something’s wrong,” Lipton admitted. “He’s just not wired that way.”  
  
  
  
Luz bristled. “What way?”

 

“He’s not a romantic person,” Lipton explained simply, the sadness in his eyes in contrast with his matter-of-fact tone. “He never has been. Waiting for his stripes to change is only going to lead to more disappointment. And I hate holding grudges.”

 

“Then don’t,” he shot back. He felt defensive for Lipton when the man was so obviously brushing off his own feelings. “Talk to him, man. Tell him you want...I don’t know. _Flowers_ , dinner, surprise gifts, whatever does it for you.” He poked him in the hip but the man didn’t even flinch. “Tell him what it means to you. I know you’re a big softie and you like to be thought of. Just let him know that romance means something important to you.”

 

“I’ve told him,” Lipton confessed, voice tight. “I’ve told him a dozen times.”

 

“And?”  


“And things are fine for a couple days.” Lipton bit the side of his thumb, staring vacantly into the glass wine case mounted behind the host desk. “He tries so hard but it always goes back to the way it was before. He doesn’t do it on purpose, George, it’s just how he is. He’s a different animal, is all. His idea of romance is sitting together after a meal, sharing breakfast and sitting close and talking about our day.”

 

Luz rubbed his chest. It felt like his heart was breaking. “And you know he loves you?”

 

“He touches my hand and I _know_ ,” Lipton assured adamantly. “He’s not trying to hurt me even when I feel like he is. He feels like someone I could spend the rest of my life with, you know?”

 

Luz smiled sympathetically. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

 

“I guess I expect too much. I _want_ too much. You build true love up in your head for years and you paint this vivid picture of your life partner and when you get it...” He bit down on his lip again as hurt started to creep into his voice. Lipton tried to smile but it looked pained. “It’s not fair to punish him or ruin our relationship just because I want to be swept off my feet. It’s childish, isn’t it? Stupid, really. What we have is good and real.”

  
“Lip…”

 

Lipton cleared his throat and straightened up. “Don’t worry about it, George. Thanks for asking. Keep an eye on this crowd and I’ll make sure the bussers are hitting the tables, alright?”

 

Luz reluctantly let him go and tried to turn his mind back to the job. He cast a half-hearted glare in Ron’s direction but there was no heat behind it. Lipton was right, it wasn’t fair punishing someone for the way they expressed their feelings. Even if it was pretty damn frustrating.

 

o0o

 

Snafu sucked up his courage and finally approached Sledge. He’d been trying to work up the nerve all day and now seemed like a good time. The very back terminal was in a shadowed archway and though it was in the eyeline of the dining room it wasn’t very noticeable. It was out of the way and Sledge was alone at the computer with no one bothering him for the first time in an hour.

 

Snafu set aside his tray and laid his cloth on top of it. He brushed off his apron and combed his fingers through his hair in an effort to tame those curls. He never worried much about his appearance, especially when he bussed, but he wanted to look good for Sledge. He _needed_ to. He had to prove he was worth the effort.

 

“Hey, Sledgehammer,” Snafu greeted, sauntering up in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. He leaned against the counter, putting himself between the man and the wall. He tried to keep what Eugene called his ‘Crazy Eyes’ under control and go for sultry but the CP wasn’t paying attention anyhow. He was staring down at his phone with pursed lips and a drawn brow. “You look real deep in thought over there.”

 

Sledge shrugged a little and tapped out a reply to some text.

 

Snafu chewed his lip and double checked to make sure a server wasn’t about to come bursting through the door. The words were simple enough. _Have dinner with me_. He’d been rehearsing it since his talk with Eugene and he was sure he could pull it off if he could just open his mouth.

 

“Snaf, I can trust you, can’t I?” Sledge asked quietly, leaning in to keep the conversation between them. Snafu nodded eagerly. They’d gone out for drinks and attended the same coworker get-togethers at Applebee's. They’d even hung out at his studio a few times for movies. Sledge liked historical documentaries and Snafu preferred horror so they traded off. And yet, even in the dim light and with Sledge screaming and clinging to his arm, Snafu couldn’t find the balls to wrap him up in his arms and murmur that it would be okay, that he had him.

 

“ ‘Course you can,” Snafu assured him.

 

“If I tell you something, it stays between us?”

 

“Always.”

  
  
Sledge chewed his lip and glanced down at his phone. “I’ve just been real unhappy lately.”

 

“You know what would cheer you up?” Snafu purred, leaning in and ready to deliver a proper pickup line. _Dinner with me._

 

“To leave my girlfriend?” Sledge snorted, effectively shattering Snafu’s daydream of candlelight and handholding.

 

“What?” The word fell flat from his lips.

 

“I think I should break up with her, and I wanted to know what you thought,” Sledge continued, humming and tapping idly at the touchscreen to log himself out. “She’s been such a drain lately financially and emotionally. She wants to know where I am all the time and keeps asking to borrow money while she ‘looks for a job’. I can’t get her hired here or any of our sister stores.” He sighed heavily and leaned his hand against his fist. “It’s just a pain. I love her, I do, but I get the feeling she doesn’t love me nearly as much. You can’t have a relationship like that, right?”

 

Snafu grunted. He could feel the shudders coming down with heavy, metallic clacks and he dropped his eyes. Prickly barbs curled around his heart and he swore he could feel them every time he breathed. He started to retreat and felt the door swing out to smack his back.

 

“Sorry, Shelton. Behind.”

 

Snafu darted under the server’s arm and back into the kitchen, abandoning his tray. He made a beeline for the front drink station and spotted the familiar outline of one of his best friends. He snagged Eugene by the throat and slammed him against the wall so hard his head bounced off the brick. He felt a spark of sympathy at the flash of pain and utter betrayal across Eugene’s face but still he crowded up against him.

 

“Did you know?” Snafu bit out sharply.

 

“Let go of me,” Eugene demanded, snatching his wrist.

 

“Did you fuckin’ know about his girl?”

 

Eugene looked down and his splintered heart sunk. “I know they’re close to ending it.”

 

Snafu let go of him with a grimace. “Fuck you, Gene. Mind your own Goddamn business next time.”

 

“Mer, wait-”

 

With a dismissive wave, Snafu was back in the dining room and Eugene had to shut his mouth.

 

o0o

 

Tab got a look at himself in the reflection of some polished metal and attempted to fix his hair a little before he went back behind the dishtank. It was a wet, filthy place but it had one redeeming quality - Chuck. The blonde was working away at a the heaping pile of plates and bowls with a single minded determination. His brow glistened and he looked somewhere between pissed off and frustrated but that didn’t deter Tab.

 

“Hey handsome.”

 

Chuck hummed in response, tossing another rack of dishes through.

 

Tab perched himself on top of the rack of cups and tried to pitch his voice as flirty as he could. “So, what are you doing tonight?”

 

“This,” Chuck grunted out.

 

“I mean _after_.”

 

Chuck sighed impatiently as he loaded up another rack. “Probably go out with the boys, I don’t know.”

 

“I was thinking about getting drinks,” Tab offered temptingly, canting his hips a little. _‘It’d be nice to have some company.’ Just say it_ , _stupid_. “It’d-”

 

“ _Listen_ ,” Chuck snapped, binning one of the plates that had broken in the dishtank. He ripped off his gloves and raked his bangs back. “If you need something or want to tell me off for something I did wrong, just do it already. I”m really fuckin busy right now.”

 

Tab bristled at the curse and suddenly the gap between them seemed so much wider. In the eyes of corporate, Chuck was at the bottom of the food chain and Tab held all the power. He was moving up in the ranks pretty fast and it wasn’t a secret he was on the fast track to fulltime manager since Moose had left. Chuck was good friends with the kitchen staff and though Tab got along well enough with them all he was still kept at arm's length. He’d be management soon and there was a separation there.

 

Tab buried his heartbreak and plastered a neutral expression on his face. “I’ll let you get back to it. Tell me if you need me to pull someone from the kitchen to help out.”

 

Chuck gave him a half-hearted salute before turning his back to him.

 

It had been stupid to get a crush on a coworker anyway.

 

o0o  

 

Dick could tell Lewis was there the moment he stepped into the restaurant. He was greeted with cheery smiles that didn’t reach their eyes. Lewis wasn’t a slave driver like Sink or even AckAck but everyone still stood up a little straighter when he was around, if only for show. Dick insisted they be on their best behavior for Lewis’s visits but it was for selfish reasons. They’d been together on and off for a few years and he wanted to show off a little for him, to make this restaurant a worthy investment of time and energy.

 

“He’s in the back,” Luz informed him without him having to ask. “He looked a little rough around the edges though. Might want to check up on him.”

 

Dick patted his shoulder and headed back to the kitchen, greeting his staff as he passed. He got back to the office with a minimum of a dozen questions but little delay. He peered into the window in the door and his heart jumped up into his throat when he didn’t see his partner in the chair. Instead he saw the bend of his arm and his bowed head near the floor.

 

“Lew?” Dick called, digging out his keys and hurrying to find the right one. He nearly threw himself against it once he heard the click and he slammed it behind him. Lewis was sitting on the floor with one hand braced against the wall and the other on his forehead. “For Pete’s sake, Lew! What happened?”

 

Lewis shook his head and mumbled something and Dick knew something was truly wrong. He growled in frustration but his palm was gentle when it cradled his partner’s jaw to lift his head. He felt his pulse and his cheeks, his forehead, thumbing below his eye to check his pupils. Lewis’s breath shuddered out of him and skimmed across his knuckles. There was a minute trembling all through the man and it only fueled his worry.

 

“Have you checked your sugar?” Dick needled, feeling along the top of the man’s arms with a heavy frown. “Where’s your sensor?”

 

“I didn’t feel like jabbing myself last weekend,” Lewis admitted, wincing as he tried not to stare up into the bright office light.

 

“How many times have we talked about this? You don’t get that kind of choice anymore,” Dick scolded as he rifled through the bottom drawer of the desk for the blood sugar kit he kept for emergencies. He took it out and started preparing everything with practiced movements. “You didn’t take care of yourself for years and your endo said if you can’t keep up with shots and checking your sugar on your own you _have_ to be on the pump _and_ the sensor. You’re a high risk diabetic. Do you remember what that means?”

 

Lewis sighed and rested his head against the wall as he let Dick take his hand and prick his finger. “Yeah, yeah, I know the deal.”

 

“Kidney failure, DKA, blindness, neuropathy,” Dick listed impatiently as he waited for the countdown on the meter. “If your numbers go too low, then what?”  
  
  
  
“Coma,” Lewis grumbled.

 

“And where’s your glucagon kit? Because your sugar is _fifty-six_ ,” Dick spat. He repacked the sugar kit and tossed it in the drawer. “Do you have glucose tablets? Gel packs?”

 

“Christ, Dick, you know I don’t,” Lewis shot back though his words were slurred. Everything inside him was both trembling and heavy and it was starting to make him sick. A bottle of orange juice was shoved into his hand and he scowled. “Gross, it’s warm.”

 

“You should’ve thought of that before you neglected yourself,” Dick tisked as he started gently patting around his middle. “Where’s your site? I want to check the line.”

 

“My numbers are low not high, as you keep bitching about. The cord isn’t kinked.”

 

“ _Drink_.”

  
“It’s on my thigh,” Lewis grumbled as he cracked open the lid. Dick’s fingers easily found the lump beneath his pants and followed the line down with single-minded determination. His pants leg was hiked up to reveal his ankle holster that he kept his insulin pump in.

 

Dick touched the top of the reservoir and the tubing in search of leakage but he found it thankfully dry. He sighed in relief and straightened his pants leg. At least there was no damage. He noticed how Lewis’s hands shook as he tried to drink and set two fingers beneath the bottle to stabilize it. “Take it slow.”

 

Lewis muttered a curse but slowed his gulping as much as he could. He was just so damn _hungry_ and thirsty. He hated orange juice but low sugar always seemed to make even the most vile things taste like ambrosia. He knew the feelings would pass once he stabilized but he wasn’t sure how long he’d need to recover. This episode had been bad and his own fault. As much as he hated Dick’s fussing and what a burden it made him feel like, he was grateful.

 

“Stay in here and I’ll take care of whatever you need done tonight,” Dick ordered, offering his hand. “Can you stand up?”

 

Lewis rolled his eyes but took the help. His knees felt wobbly and he nearly toppled over when he was righted. But Dick was right there ever-knowing as always and took him by the waist with a quiet reassurance. He let himself be dropped into the chair and continued to drink the juice. His hands were still shaking horribly but Dick was there to help steady the bottle until it was drained.

 

“Do your paperwork, go over the forms, and I’ll come check on you in a while,” Dick promised, thumbing along his smooth cheek. “Text me if you need anything.”

 

Lewis nodded obediently and got a sweet kiss in return.

 

When Dick stepped out he found half a dozen of his employees standing around waiting for a chance to talk to him. Luz included. “Is everything okay, Skipper?”

 

“Nixon is just going to be tied up for a while, there’s nothing to worry about,” Dick half lied. “I don’t want anyone bothering him, alright? He’s got a lot of work to do.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Now, how can I help you boys?”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Eddie eyed the supply lists and confirmation sheets with disdain. There was still a lot to do and most of it was outside the office. He had to do rounds with the employees, check outs, run reports for the servers, and do whatever Lipton hadn’t done yet. He didn’t want to slack, especially after earlier, but it was getting late. He kept glancing at his phone until he finally gave in.

 

Andy picked up on the second ring.

 

“Hey, honey,” he drawled. “How was your day?”

 

Eddie happily listened to Andy list all the happily mundane things he’d done that day. He leaned far in the chair and tilted his head back toward the ceiling. He squinted at the bright light and laid his hand to his forehead to let his fingers block some of it. He couldn’t wait until Monday and Tuesday. It was a rare two days that neither of them worked and they had plans. They were going out to Andy’s lakehouse, just the two of them, in relative seclusion. Eddie would bring his guitar, Andy would stock them up on all sorts of meat to grill, they’d swim, and overall just lay in bed as long as they wanted enjoying one another.

 

“You know I love you, right?” Eddie asked softly, interrupting the flow of his boyfriend’s words. Andy went quiet and he laughed when he realized he’d surprised the man. “Not often I render you speechless. Not since I wore those thigh highs.”

 

Andy choked over the line and it made him laugh harder.

 

“Damn,” he wound down, sitting up straighter. “Don’t wait up for me, alright?”

 

‘ _I like waiting up for you_ ,’ Andy replied sweetly, drawing some color out on his cheeks. ‘ _You never heat up your pizza right anyways_.’

 

“What?” Eddie snorted. “I do too!”

 

‘ _You always burn your mouth or it's too cold and you have to make two trips._ ’

 

“That’s _impatience_ , not ignorance. Learn the difference, old man.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

Employees spilled out of the back doors and into the parking lot like a relieved flood. They chatted and tried to smile though their shoulders were slumped and draped in aprons. Grant, Hoosier, Skip, and Penk all gathered around Smokey’s car passing around a pack of cigarettes. Joe came up and smacked hands with Hoosier, pulling him into a one-armed hug and whispering something in his ear. Hoosier chuckled and slipped a couple grams of weed into his pocket.

 

“Thanks, man.”

 

He took Hoosier’s lighter for his cigarette and slipped it back along with thirty bucks.

 

“Bye boys!” Lipton called to the group with a wave. He got a whole sea of sincere smiles and eager waves and it made him feel good. No matter how tough he was on the boys he’d do anything for them. The restaurant environment forged a bit of a “found family” - them vs. the customers, a real bonding experience. He felt closer to them than he did some of his own blood relatives and he’d do anything for them. They were good kids even if they were bullheaded most days.

 

He passed by Ron and they nearly bumped shoulders. He went to say goodnight when the man caught his elbow and drew him closer. His expression stayed carefully neutral but there was something earnest in his dark eyes. “Hey.”

 

“Do you want to come over to my place for dinner? I’ll cook,” Ron offered, his fingers softening to a caress along the crook of his elbow.

  
  
Lipton felt a wave of relief and he smiled. “I’d like that.”

 

They parted to their own cars but Lipton caught Luz’s eye before he climbed in. Luz was sharing a smoke with Toye shoulder-to-shoulder and his smile was knowing. He nodded and the boy gave him one in return. “Bright and early tomorrow, George!”

 

“You and me, Lip. I’ll bring the coffee.”

 

Eugene chuckled lowly and the brick of the building bit at him through his uniform. Babe was crowding into his space with that hundred watt smile and he liked it. Babe braced an arm on the wall beside his head and leaned in to whisper sweet nothings that tickled his ear.

 

“Goddamn, you’re gorgeous,” Babe murmured fondly, nosing just behind his ear. “How do you look so good in this fuckin’ uniform, huh?”

 

“A gift.”

 

The door to the kitchen banged open and Snafu stormed out. He had changed into his leather jacket with all the ridiculous zippers and buckles that they teased him about but he was in no mood to smile. His jaw was set and his eyes were struck through with bitter clarity. His friends stayed quiet as he stomped past. Snafu threw a leg over his Harley and kicked it to life. The engine roared like a beast in the quiet parking lot.

 

Chuck went to say something but Penk laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t, man.”

 

Snafu jammed on his helmet and revved the bike with intent. The tires squealed against pavement as he started to burn out but then he shot out into the street. In moments he was gone.

 

Everyone was quiet for a minute as they puzzled over what they had seen. Those in the know merely shook their heads in sympathy. By the time their conversations picked back up, the door flew open again and Sledge came jogging out. He seemed flustered and worried with a bitten-up lip. He looked pleadingly to Babe and Eugene. “Did you guys see Shelton come through here?”

 

“You just missed him.” Eugene said it like an apology.

 

Sledge’s shoulders hunched in defeat and he scrubbed a hand over his face. Malarkey came out the door and patted his shoulder with a small smile before he made his way over to his friends. He bumped fists with Skip and whispered about how the whole thing was a shame.

 

Luz and Toye wandered over to Smokey’s car, the slighter scowling around a smoke. “What’s up Snaf’s ass?”

 

“Stone cold rejection,” Skip tisked, thumbing toward Sledge. “Guess pretty boy over there’s going to need some good, old-fashioned comforting.”

 

“If you fuck with him, I will personally kick your ass,” Chuck declared. “Sledge is good people.”

 

“Second that,” Toye grunted. He took Luz’s cigarette to steal a few puffs. “He’s a good kid.”

 

Web was one of the last servers to wander out the door. He yawned and scrubbed a hand through his hair. It had been a mess for the better part of an hour and he knew it was sticking up weird but he was much too tired to care. He hurt from his shins to his shoulders. All he wanted was a giant cheeseburger and to relax. He wandered up to Smokey’s car and ignored Hoosier’s wolf whistle. He bumped shoulders with Chuck and took a hit off the man’s cigarette.

 

Joe closed the distance between them and took him by the waist with a hum, backing him up a few steps to put some space between them and the group. Web smiled faintly as a kiss was pressed to the corner of his mouth.

 

“The boys are having a party tonight,” Joe murmured into his jaw, nosing at his cheek. “What do you think? Free booze? We could get _really_ fucked up and forget this whole day.”

 

“If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to skip this one. I can get fucked up at home and sleep. Shit, I don’t know how much longer I can be on my feet,” he chuckled weakly, rubbing at his growling stomach.

 

After two years together, Joe could read all the signs. He could see the tight exhaustion around Web’s eyes. He could tell his knees were weak by the strange gait he’d sported walking up to them. Today had taken its toll on them all but between working a double and getting demoralized, his boyfriend was drained.

 

Joe kept an arm around the man’s waist as he turned to face their friends. “Looks like we’re out of this one. Rain check.”

 

Hoosier’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Are you sure you two don’t need someone to tuck you in?”

 

Chuck shoved an elbow into Hoosier’s gut but that didn’t stop the blonde from cackling.

  
  
“I think we’ll manage,” Joe snorted. “See you guys later.”

 

They all said their goodnights and the pair started back toward the car they’d both come in. Web glanced over his shoulder at their friends with a thoughtful frown. “Joe, you can go if you want. It’s okay. I’m just tired.

 

Joe shrugged. “I’m tired too.”

 

“I don’t want to stop you from having a good time.”

 

“Babe, we can have a good time at home,” Joe dismissed, giving his waist a squeeze. “When’s the last time it was you and me, huh? Let’s get some burgers and fuck around. Okay?”

 

Web smiled in relief. He would’ve let Joe go if he wanted but it felt good to be chosen over a party. On any other night he would’ve gladly gone along as well and had a great time. Tonight was different. He was hungry and exhausted from a long weekend. Curling up with Joe and food and all their pillows sounded nice. “Okay. Can you drive?”

 

“You got it.”

 

o0o

 

When the song came on the radio, they shared sloppy grins before they started belting it out. “You little dumb ass bitch, I ain’t fuckin’ with you! I got a million trillion things I’d rather fuckin’ do than be fuckin’ with you!”

 

A lumpy, steaming bag of burgers and fries sat between the two of them and their stomachs growl in unison.

 

o0o

 

Dick was the last to leave the building. He made sure everyone had finished up their duties and were out in a timely manner. He locked up everything and shut down the computers for the night. After a double check, he made his way out the back door and was delightfully surprised to see Lewis was still parked beside his own car. His partner was leaning against it, smoking, watching the thin clouds trickle by the moon.

 

“Hey,” Dick greeted, scanning the empty parking lot before taking his place beside the man. Lewis smiled and bumped their elbows playfully. Dick joined him in watching the moon for a few minutes before he sighed. “Listen, I’m sorry about being pushy earlier. You’re an adult and I shouldn’t have done that.”

 

“You were just looking out for me.”

 

“But there was no reason to overreact. I just...worry,” Dick admitted. “I try to learn as much as I can about diabetes but everytime I think I memorize a rule there’s a dozen exceptions. It keeps me up some nights thinking of all the things that could go _wrong_. A line bunching or a bad site in the middle of the night. I know how you are and it’s not a big deal to you anymore, but to me it is.” He rubbed his eyes and smiled a little as the man laid a hand on his back. “I’m sorry, Lew. You don’t need me on your plate too.”

 

He dropped his cigarette butt on the pavement. “Dick, can I tell you something?”

 

“Anything.”

 

“No one I’ve dated before has given even the smallest shit about my sugar,” Lewis confessed, shock shooting through Dick so hard he almost choked. “I’m serious. No one’s fucking cared. And even when they did, they never tried to really understand it. Just more bullshit about drinking more water and not eating cake and all the usual bullshit. You’ve done _research_ and you’ve come to the doc’s with me and…” He shook his head with an awed laugh. “Dick, you’ve done more than I ever could’ve hoped for in a partner, alright? You do more than I deserve sometimes.”

 

“You deserve someone who understands you,” Dick countered hotly, nerves prickling at the thought of someone getting the honor of dating Lewis only to waste it.

 

“That’s why I’ve got you, big guy,” Lewis assured him like it was the most natural thing in the world. He smiled at him and Dick lost his breath at how bright those eyes were in the lot light. “You’re my other half. One of us has to watch out for me and we both know it’s not me. I know why you get that way.”

 

“Yeah?”

  
  
“I don’t check my sugar every day and I don’t put in my sensor even though it’s fucking expensive and I _really_ should. I don’t change my site like I should, my diet’s shit, and I forget to count my carbs after the third beer,” Lewis conceded. “But you...you’re always there, ready to remind me. Like a sexy mother hen.”

 

Dick knew he was blushing but he couldn’t look away from that gorgeous smile. “Is that what gets you going?”

 

“Overbearing is pretty fucking hot.”

  
  
Dick huffed in amusement and took Lewis’s hand. He laced their fingers and brought them up to kiss. “Why don’t you come home with me tonight? Stay over.”

 

“Why, Mr. Winters, I thought you’d never ask. Got any food in the fridge?”

 

“I’m sure I can find you something.”  
  
  
  
“Then what are we standing around here for? Let’s go.”

 

o0o0o0o

 

George yawned and rolled out of bed, bowing in a long stretch. He groaned as warmth bled through his sated body. There was an ache in his ass but he liked it. There wasn’t much he liked more than getting fucked by Joe after earning a solid paycheck. He swiped a smoke out of the pack on the side table and popped it between his lips. “I’m stealing some of your boxers. Get your ass moving, we need to pick up beer.”

 

Joe groaned in protest and rolled over, curling an arm around his thigh. “Come back to bed?”

 

George lit up and smoke poured from between the seam of his lips. “I told the guys we’d be there before one.”

 

Joe threw his legs over the side of the bed and hugged his lover around the middle. He pressed wet kisses along the dip of his spine. He could taste the fresh sweat and the lingering passion on his flesh. They’d just finished a vigorous round and still he was craving George. It had always been like that between them - heat and fire and _more_ , always _more_. But tonight that fire was a low smolder inside him and he wanted to drag him back between the sheets.

 

“Let’s stay in?” Joe offered quietly, lips grazing the warm flesh.

 

George snorted around the smoke. “Stay in?”

 

“Yeah,” Joe pressed, fingers massaging soothing circles in the man’s hips. “You and me.”

 

George’s heart fluttered at the implication. He peered over his shoulder and those doe eyes batted at him. How he was supposed to do anything but give in, he didn’t know. Spending a night alone in bed with Joe and his black lab Justice sounded like the best thing in the world. They could fuck around and smoke, have a couple beers, but there was one thing left…

 

“I’m hungry,” he whined.

 

“I’ll make you something,” Joe promised earnestly, turning him around and kiss his stomach. “I’ve got _pernil_ left over from Sunday. Spent all day slow roasting it. I’ll make up some rice and beans. It’ll be just like ‘ma used to make.”

 

“ _Your_ mom maybe,” George teased, trying to reign in his enthusiasm. “Any particular reason you want me here so bad, Joe Toye?”

 

“I don’t want to share you,” Joe admitted easily, thumbs rubbing along the soft swell of his hips. “I want you all to myself tonight. ‘Less you really want to go?”

 

George crawled into his lap and they both gasped at the press of flesh. He dropped a kiss on the hickey he’d left below Joe’s ear with a chuckle. “I’d rather be here with you. I’ll text Smoke and tell them we’re not coming. You get your fine ass into the kitchen and start my dinner, bitch.”  


Joe pinched his ass so hard George yelped and flung himself to the floor.

 

o0o0o0o

 

There was a wide mirror on the desk. There were band logo stickers and pictures plastered all around the edges. It was smudged but gave a clear view of the bed. They were tangled in some good, old-fashioned fucking and Web could see their reflections perfectly from his knees.

 

Joe was fucking him from behind but draped over him in a possessive hunch. Web was getting off on the image of being dominated as much as he was his boyfriend’s cock. Web braced his elbows hard into the bed, arching his back in a deep bow, and spread his legs to make himself a pretty picture. He could see how his damp hair was curling and how red his abused nipples looked against the steel bars inside them. He loved how they looked pressed together, Joe’s tattooed skin forming a silky line against his own as they fucked. He could see his boyfriend’s tight ass flex and bounce with every piston of his hips. Web felt cracked open by the thick of his cock and loved every moment of it. Sweat gleamed on the wings of their shoulders and the line of their legs making every thrust smoother.

 

Joe dragged his cheek against the plane of his boyfriend's shoulder and groaned. “Shit, David, I don’t tell you enough how fucking hot you are.”

  
  
Web laughed breathlessly and pushed back, pleasure hissing up his spine as Joe’s cock tagged his prostate. “Yeah?”

 

“I’d fuck you in front of everyone,” Joe swore, eyes pitch at the mere thought.

 

Web’s breath stuttered out of him as he imagined himself spread out on silk sheets getting fucked with the shadowed faces of their friends all around, all palming themselves with lecherous grins. It should’ve been disturbing and in the cold light of day it would've made him cringe. Here in the privacy of their bedroom it made his cock drip.

 

“I know Hoosier would be up for it,” Web teased mercilessly, fingers gripping the sheet in preparation from the onslaught to come. “He always talks about how much he wants to fuck me. Bet he’d jump at the chance to share.”

 

“ _Share_?” Joe snarled, raising up to his knees as his swollen lips twisted in a scowl. “Who the _fuck_ said anything about sharing, Webster? You’re _mine_.”

 

“It’d be rude to say no,” Web cooed, casting a coy look over his shoulder. “I hear he’s got a big cock and knows how to use it.”

 

That hit all the right buttons.

 

Joe outright _growled_ and Web cried out when the man’s hands clamped down on his shoulders. In the mirror he could see Joe’s lip pull back to show off his sharp teeth but then he couldn’t see much more than their sheets when he started to _really_ get fucked. Joe snapped his hips with newfound, jealous rage and every inch of his cock burned Web from the inside out. It was just what he’d been angling for. He watched Joe in the mirror and drank up the sight of him snarly and feral and _perfect_ . He couldn’t believe that even after two years Joe still got jealous. And somehow after all this time it was _still_ the best sex he’d ever had. Web loved riling his boy up.

 

“Come on, Web, tell me how much you love my cock. You love fucking me.” Web whined when a hand fisted in his hair and yanked his head back. A harsh kiss was dragged over his mouth and his lip was bitten up until he whimpered. He shuddered beneath his fierce lover and was tempted to beg for mercy though it was the last thing he wanted. “I don’t _share_.”

 

Joe’s teeth raked down his throat and he ached for more. “Joe, please…”

 

“He couldn’t do this for you,” Joe rasped as he laid wet kisses down the raw path his teeth had carved. He worshiped the deep line of Web’s jaw, the soft of his throat, the vulnerable dip of his nape, all the way down his spine to the deepest valley between his arching shoulder blades. Joe slowed to a crawl and lovingly cradled his boyfriend’s hips. His cock dragged achingly slow against his sensitive rim and goosebumps broke out on pale skin.

 

“He couldn’t love you like I do.”

 

Web moaned and arched into him. He got all hot and possessive every time the servers fluttered around Joe at the drink stations. He could still hear his coworkers talking about how Joe’s mouth was made _slick_ and how they wanted to run their fingers through his thick hair while he ate them out.

 

Web reached back with his own growl and grabbed a fistful of that hair. He yanked Joe up to lick into his pliant mouth. “No one better even _think_ about loving you like this, Liebling.”

 

It was Joe’s turn to shudder and he nodded quickly, agreeing. Mine, yours, _ours_. They belonged to each other, kink or no kink.

 

o0o

 

The cum hadn’t even dried on their skin before they demolished their food. Good sex and good burgers always made the shittiest day better. They had done a cursory wipe down before Joe grabbed the beers and Web rolled their joint. He bitched that Joe was too sloppy and impatient to do it right so he’d put himself unofficially in charge of it. They changed into some loose boxers to fight off the chill of the night but kept their shirts balled up on the floor. They draped over one another on the bed and enjoyed the skin to skin contact while they passed the joint back and forth. Joe was on his second beer but Web was feeling plenty warm and fuzzy from just the thick smoke. His boyfriend was watching TV flipping between UFC to hockey but Web had other things on his mind. His gaze trailed across the posters lining their walls, skimming the spines of classics and comic books alike on their shelves. His textbooks were stacked beside Joe’s sketch tablets, his charcoals and paints mixing up with Web’s highlighters.

 

Joe’s cat Sabra came padding into their bedroom. She did a few laps to try and throw off their suspicions before ‘casually’ making her way to their crumpled burger wrappers. She started sniffing around for scraps but Joe tisked sharply and she jolted back.

 

“Hey! _Essen Sie Ihr eigenes Essen, ja_? Fucking brat.”

 

“Did you hear about Buck?” Web asked.

 

Joe grunted around the lip of the bottle.

 

“Him and his wife got divorced.”  


  
He choked on the suds. “What? Are you fucking with me?”

 

“Nope. Five years and a kid together. It’s officially over. Nothing left but the ink to dry.”

 

“Shit, man,” Joe tisked, looking down at where his boyfriend’s head was pillowed on his stomach. “They were really into each other. Everytime I saw them they looked happy as fuck. Buck loves his kid too. _Fuck_. I wonder what happened? It seemed good.”

 

“It’s just how life is, weird and fucked up. One day you wake up and your five year relationship is over just like _that_.” Web attempted to give a dramatic snap but his fingers fumbled. “You can love somebody as much as you want but sometimes it’s just over. Must be the worst feeling in the world...walking away from somebody you thought you were going to be with forever. Gets to the point where you still love them but you can’t stand to be around them anymore.” He took a swig of Joe’s beer to wet his dry mouth. “Makes you think that everything can end in the blink of an eye, you know? One moment you’re living together, the next…”

 

“Hey,” Joe called softly, tugging on his arm. Web went willingly as his boyfriend gathered him up closer until his head was tucked beneath the man’s sharp chin. Long, calloused fingers curled around his nape and tickled at his hairline. It made him shiver and he curled closer, body loose with satiated hunger, in both ways, along with the tempting curl of smoke in his lungs. “I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

 

Web sighed and laid an arm around his waist, rubbing his cheek to warm skin. “Okay.”

 

“It’s okay, baby. You always get melodramatic when you’re high,” Joe teased lightly, nuzzling into his boyfriend’s soft hair. He wanted to tell him he loved him but it would feel ingenuine like this.

 

He decided right then what he’s be getting his beloved.

 

o0o0o0o

 

The next morning, Joe waited until Web left to go to class before he made the phone call. Chuck answered with Hoosier’s obnoxious porny moans in the background and with the way it echoed he knew he was on speaker.

 

“I need your help, man.”

  
  
Across the line, Chuck smacked Hoosier to make him shut up. “What’s up?”

 

“I need your help finding a reputable, _safe_ place where my fuckin’ mermaid princess can swim with some sharks. Whatever we can find where he can touch one and he won’t get his stupid face bitten in.”

 

“Holy shit, Lieb,” Chuck laughed. “Well, I guess you found the perfect gift.”

 

There was a noise like someone bouncing on the balls of their feet. “Oo, what about me? What can I do? Let me hook you up, man. Golden buttplugs? Cock cages? Matching fleshlights? Anything for you, my man.”

 

“I need you to find me the best diamond nipple bars in the city. Good, expensive shit with surgical steel.”

  
  
“Done and done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are hella appreciated. I'm in a rough patch, yall


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